


Imaginary

by GemmaRose



Series: Altean Lanse AU [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Altean Lance (Voltron), Childhood, Gen, Illustrated, Imaginary Friends, Kid Fic, Kid Lance (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-11
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2019-05-21 02:53:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14906957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GemmaRose/pseuds/GemmaRose
Summary: At five and a half deca-phoebs old, Lanse knows he's not allowed in the Voltron hangars by himself. But if he's got Wavey with him, he's not alone, and it's not like he's going to do anything stupid. He just wants to see her up close.





	Imaginary

“What exactly do you think you’re doing, Mr. Smythe-Ebaran?”

Lanse froze, and slowly turned his head to see exactly who he’d already known he was going to see. “Nothing.” he lied, and Uncle Blaytz sighed.

“You know you’re not allowed down here on your own, squirt.” he chastised, closing the distance between them in two strides and lifting Lanse easily to sit on his shoulders.

“I’m not alone.” Lanse huffed, crossing his arms over the top of his uncle’s head. “I’ve got Wavey with me.”

“Well, Wavey’s not allowed there without a grown-up either.” Uncle Blaytz replied smoothly. Lanse huffed again, and thunked his chin against the top of the Blue Paladin’s head. At least it had been Blaytz who found them, not Dad or Father or one of the other Paladins. Blaytz never tried to tell him Wavey wasn’t real. “So, where were you headed?” he asked, tilting his head up to meet Lanse’s eyes.

“The hangar.” he answered with a smile, sitting up a little straighter.

“Without your sister?” Blaytz raised an eyebrow at him.

“She’s sleepin’.” Lanse pouted momentarily, then perked back up as Wavey whispered to him again, her voice like water against the edge of the pool. “Can we go get her?” he asked eagerly. “I promise promise _promise_ we’ll be good.”

“Sorry, squirt.” Uncle Blaytz chuckled. “Hangar’s no place for a kid your age, and I’m heading out with your father to tidy up some negotiations in...” he released one of Lanse’s legs to check his watch. “A bit over a tock.”

“Awwww.” Lanse pouted harder.

“Plus, I think a certain somebody is _supposed_ to be asleep right now, like his sister.”

“Not tired.” he protested. “Wavey an I were jus’ gonna go to the hangar an’ look at her.”

“Her?” Uncle Blaytz turned his head, a frown on his face as he eyes Lanse. Lanse clapped his hands over his mouth, and Uncle Blaytz sighed heavily. “You were headed to Blue’s hangar, weren’t you?”

“No.” Lanse lied, and Uncle Blaytz reached up without looking to tweak one of his ears.

“You know you’re extra not allowed in there, squirt.” he teased.

“But Wavey wanted-”

“Leandro.” Uncle Blaytz spoke softly, and he fell silent at the use of his given name. “I know she can be persuasive, but please, don’t let her bring you to the hangar. Blue is...” he trailed off, and Lanse opened his mouth to finish the sentence before realizing he didn’t know what word he’d meant to say. He’d never seen any of Voltron’s ships up close, he just knew what Dad and Father and Uncle Blaytz told him.

“Blue is special.” Uncle Blaytz said at length. “But to be chosen by her is a big responsibility.”

“I can be responsible!” Lanse said quickly. “I’m almost five and a half.”

“Mmm, still a fry.” Uncle Blaytz smiled, reaching up to tap him on the nose. “A fry who should be napping with his sister right now.” he released Lanse’s other leg, and Lanse pouted when he realized they’d stopped outside the door to his and Amalia’s room.

“But I’m not _tired_.” he protested as Uncle Blaytz lowered him to the floor. “Me an’ Ama are getting too big for naps.”

“Well, that’s an argument to take up with your parents.” Uncle Blaytz smiled, ruffling his hair. “But you at least should stay in your room, or your dad’s gonna have a heart attack.”

Lanse pouted, but didn’t fuss as Blaytz ushered him into his room. He sat down on the edge of his bed with a huff, and pouted at the floor with his arms tightly crossed as the door slid shut. Wavey curled around him with a deep, soothing sound, and he uncrossed his arms to lay his hand on the bed next to her. “Why do you like Uncle Blaytz so much?” he asked, keeping his voice low so as not to wake Ama. Dad had said she needed sleep, ‘cause she was sick, but it wasn’t fair that he had to be stuck in here with her the whole time. “He always stops us from going to the hangars.”

Wavey shrugged, the motion rippling through her like a wave, and Lanse pouted at her. “That’s not an answer.”

“Wha’s not?” Ama mumbled, and Lanse felt a pang of guilt.

“Nothin, Ama.” he said softly. “Go back to sleep.”

“Why’re you wearing shoes?” she frowned at him sleepily.

“I wanted to see Voltron’s ships up close.” he admitted. Instead of rolling her eyes in pretend disinterest like she usually did, Ama just coughed into her pillow. “Are you okay?” he asked quickly, slipping off his bed. “Should I get Dad?”

“Please.” Ama whimpered, and Lanse rushed over to the door. It didn’t open at his first touch to the operation panel, but Wavey surged past him and on his next tap the panel lit up green, allowing the door to slide open. Wavey vanished around the corner long before he reached it, and Lanse pouted briefly before squaring his shoulders and heading towards where Dad worked. He was gonna start getting tutored like Fernanda in a few movements; that made him a big kid now, or close enough. He didn’t need someone to hold his hand while he went to find Dad.

Not needing it didn’t make him stop wanting it, though. The halls of the castleship his ancestors built were huge, and none of the grown-ups gave him a second glance as he did his best to remember where Dad’s office was. It wasn’t far from Dad and Father’s room, and he knew he could find his way there, but the further he went the more he wished he wasn’t alone. He wrapped his arms around himself and blinked back tears, stubbornly setting his jaw. Big kids didn’t need a sister or a stuffed cheoc or a friend with them to be brave, and he was a big kid now.

And, Wavey would want him to be brave. He could sorta hear her, like a memory but not quite, the soft shush of waves on a sandy beach urging him to be brave because she was always with him. He shivered as a wave of cold washed over him, but smiled all the same. “Thanks, Wavey.” he whispered, and let his arms fall to his sides as he continued through the halls with his eyes on the door numbers. Maybe Dad would let him go play with the gladiator, after they made Ama feel better. That’d be fun.

**Author's Note:**

> Art is by the incredible [Blip](http://mistreeblip.tumblr.com/tagged/my-art) and [Vinzha](https://vinzha-vz.tumblr.com/tagged/vzart), in that order.


End file.
